In Her Dreams
by Hiei-Riku-RubedoFAN
Summary: Even though she finished the journey with his help, Colette feels that she doesn't fully understand Lloyd's mind. His gloomy demeanor has worried her and she only wishes she could understand him. With all her heart she just wishes he could talk to her.


**Hiyah Peoples! Ok, so this is one of those ideas that has been buggin me for a while and since I got such a good reaction on the other Tales of Symphonia one-shot I said what the heck and typed this out. As for those readers who are reading my others stories I'm sorry for not updating them with this! So for you guys who might be reading any of my Kingdom Hearts/Tales of Symphonia/Yu-Yu Hakusho/Xenosaga stories, I AM NOT NEGLECTING THEM! So please don't get mad at me for creating this little one-shot! (Bowing apologetically) I will update them very soon, I swear it! Well, this is a Colette and Lloyd fluff thing and I really hope you like it. Sorry if some of the words are off for things that happened in the game but my great memory only seems to work word-for-word when it's something I read.**

**Oh, and if I owned Tales of Symphonia I'd probably be so freakin famous that I wouldn't be able to stand it. THAT AIN'T ME NOW SO DO I HAVE TO SAY IT?!**

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**(Pre Title Of Significance) Colette has lately noticed a dark gloom about Lloyd and she can't fully understand why he seems to have withdrawn. Even though he helped her through the Journey of Regeneration, she has no clue how to talk to him about it. So she resolves to seek help in prayer and ask him about it in the next morning. This is only a little while after the game and starts in Colette's house.**

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_**In Her Dreams**_

The young blonde haired teen stood in the doorway of her dark room and quietly moved a stray strand of hair from her face to behind her ear. She was dressed in sky blue pajamas decorated by cloud embroidery and she gave a small yawn as she pulled her hair back into the long braid she usually had for bed. After silently shutting the door behind her, she moved to the window and drew back the curtains to allow beams of moonlight to fall all about her room. A gentle breeze blew through the room and it caused a few stray strands of her golden blonde hair to obscure the sight of her bright blue eyes.

She lifted her gaze to the dark sky above and stared at the stars above her head. They sparkled and glinted beautifully above her and she found herself remembering the nights she had spent with Lloyd when they were traveling to regenerate the world. She breathed in deeply as her heart raced at the beautiful and peaceful memories that floated through her mind like the gentle breeze of the night. She remembered how the light of the stars reflected of the brown haired boy's beautiful face and how beautiful his deep brown eyes looked under the starlit sky. Colette could feel her cheeks burn bright in the dark as she thought of how his eyes would shine in the light given from the moon and how in the very corner of each eye there would be a sparkle that would only show in the stars. It was as if there were two very bright and beautiful stars hidden deep in his eyes waiting to be found by anyone who looked hard enough.

'_Yes……his eyes greatly resemble the stars,' _she thought calmly as yet another soft night breeze blew through the window and into her face.

"What a beautiful night," Colette murmured as she moved from the window to stop at her bedside. With a grace that none of her friends thought she possessed she knelt down and placed her elbows on her bed and as her eyes closed she quietly clapped her hands together. She tilted her head down and with the tips of her fingers brushing her forehead began to speak in a hushed tone, "Oh Lady Martel. Thank you for allowing us to find a way for the worlds to no longer sacrifice one another and thank you for allowing all of my friends to make it through with their lives. I'm grateful that they are all now in their homes and living happy lives but……I'm worried about Lloyd. Lately he had been quiet and something really important seems to be on his mind. I don't know how to ask him about it and I'm worried that he might be in trouble. Please, Lady Martel I wish to ask you for your advice and guidance. How should I ask Lloyd about this and is it possible that I can help him in any way? Please, I wish to understand what has happened and I wish to offer any help I can give. Thank you for listening to my prayer and if you would, please watch over Lloyd for me."

She opened her eyes and stood up pulling back the covers of her bed. She quietly slid herself in between the covers and sheets of the mattress and she gently laid her cheek on the pillow without looking away from the moon that shone through her windows. She pulled the covers up to her chin and stared at the stars only thinking of the red clad twin swordsman that she had come to love. Everything about the stars sent her reeling back to thoughts of his eyes and the person she could see within them. Finally after staring at the stars for what seemed hours she felt her eyes close but not before seeing a shooting star soar across the sky that resembled the blade of Lloyd's sword while doing a Sonic Thrust.

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"To understand him. Is that what you really wish?"

"Yes," Colette automatically answered as her eyes snapped open. She blinked to focus her eyes but once she could see clearly, the scene before her was not the one she fell asleep to. Instead she stood in the woods just at the base of the cliff not too far away from Iselia. She looked down and gasped as she found that she was completely clothed in the outfit that she traveled in and that she seemed to be alone in the clearing.

'_But then……where is the voice that spoke to me? It sounded……it sounded like Martel,'_ she thought curiously as she walked forward looking around. Suddenly her sharp crystal blue eyes fell on a figure hunched over at the bottom of the cliff and another figure lying before the first. Colette stared hard at the figure for a moment before nearly falling back in the realization that it was Dirk and the figure that lied before him looked to be a woman.

"What in the world?" Colette whispered to herself as she ran forward to where Dirk was. Of course the grace she had lately been blessed with could only last for so long and thus it wasn't a surprise when she tripped over her own feet and fell forward just behind the dwarf. She was about to cry out in apology but found that her voice caught in her throat as her hand phased through Dirk's back.

"Please……take care of my son……take care of my Lloyd," a woman's voice pleaded quietly to the dwarf. Colette took in a sharp breath and pushed herself up to her knees with shaky arms. She carefully glanced around his shoulders and saw a young beautiful woman lying on the ground with her hand raised to a figure in the dwarf's arms. Her entire body was beaten and bruised and she was covered from head-to-toe with wounds. There was one particular wound in her stomach that was profusely bleeding and her clothes were completely torn. Her brown hair was matted in blood and even though she had to be in pain, she kept a small smile as she kept her hand up to a figure in Dirk's arms. Colette swallowed and looked away from the woman's brown eyes to see that it was a small version of Lloyd that rested in his future step-father's arms.

"Please……I know……that you don't know me but please," Anna begged in a pain filled voice, "Please take care of Lloyd. He's……so precious."

"Don't worry. I'll take care of him. Is there……is there anything I can do for you?" Dirk asked in a conflicted tone. Colette looked at the dwarf in sympathy and thought of how hard it must've been for him to sit there and watch her slip from the world. _'Poor Dirk and Poor Lloyd,'_ she thought wishing she could comfort him.

"Just one more thing……please……when Lloyd gets older……I need you to give him……my exshpere……and let him use it……thank you……" Anna whispered before closing her eyes and her hand slowly falling from her unconscious son's face. Her face became peaceful and she no longer looked like she was in pain.

"Poor Lloyd and Dirk…" Colette whispered when suddenly the very exsphere that Lloyd would get when he was older flashed completely blinding the blonde and when she could finally see again the sun had set and the base of the cliff was in complete darkness. The blonde teenager slowly stood and looked around trying to figure out what happened but before she could figure anything out she heard a desperate voice call out through the night sky.

"ANNA! LLOYD!" a voice-that Colette instantly recognized as Kratos-called out as the auburn hair swordsman burst through the trees and into the dirt road. He looked beaten and worn but his face was full of determination as he searched the area for his family, "LLOYD! ANNA! ANSWER ME!"

The angel ran forward and ran straight past Colette as if she wasn't even there. He stopped by the spot where Dirk was and stared at the ground with a horrified expression. It was then that Colette took notice of the blood that took the shape of a body. Kratos fell to his knees and placed his hands on the ground whispering something over and over that Colette couldn't hear.

"Oh Kratos," Colette said quietly despite the fact she knew he couldn't hear her, "I know you can't hear me but I still wish I could tell you Lloyd is alive. He's safe."

"My family……they're gone," Kratos choked digging his fingers into the ground, "I'm sorry Anna……it's my fault things turned out like this. And Lloyd……I'm so sorry I wasn't a better father to you. I'm so sorry…I hope you both will forgive me."

Colette felt her eyes burn and her heart race in sympathy but before she could even move she was blinded by yet another flash of light that emitted this time from Kratos' exsphere. Colette fell backward once again and raised her hands in front of her face but not before she swore that for just a quick moment in time, that Kratos was shedding tears.

Colette closed her eyes and waited a moment before opening her eyes again but when she did she was in a white area with a woman standing before her. Colette jumped up and was nearly beside herself with joy upon seeing……

"Martel!" Colette cried happily.

"So you wish to know what has put Lloyd in his gloom do you not?" Martel asked looking at her.

"Yes! I'm very worried about him." Colette answered with concern dripping from every word she spoke.

"You must understand what has put him in that state and you must figure out the one thing to help him," Martel answered raising her staff above her head. Colette felt herself get lifted from the ground and heard Martel speak one last piece of advice before disappearing, "Look through the past and find out what is causing his inner turmoil."

"Lady Martel!" Colette cried out when she blinded once more. When she opened her eyes this time she found herself to be in Lloyd's room at Dirk's house. She looked around and soon found herself looking at the back of a five year old Lloyd. He was leaning out the window and looking up at the stars that shone through the clear night sky.

"Wow! It's really bright tonight," Lloyd said looking at a bright blue star in the middle of the sky.

"Lloyd! Be gettin' in bed soon, son!" Dirk called up the stairs.

"Yeah, ok Dad!" Lloyd called not even looking back from the stars. He stared intently at the stars and whispered, "They remind me of……I think my real dad…I used to sit on someone's shoulders and look for shooting stars……his hair was dark……"

Colette stared at the young version of her friend and the wheels began turning. She clapped her hands together and thoughts of Lloyd's mood began to form inside her mind. Colette looked at Lloyd who quickly clapped his hands together and bowed his head, "Dad, if you're out there, I hope that I find you and we can be a family again! I really miss you and I wish with all my heart that we can be together again!"

"So Lloyd did remember Kratos," Colette mused as a shooting shot across the sky. Just before it fell from sight it did something Colette had never seen before. It flashed a bright red like it had exploded or something before completely disappearing into the dark sky.

Colette was lifted from the ground once again and the world all around her went into a whirl of colors. Just as Colette's on head had began to feel like it was spinning too the world came to a stop on a picture of Iselia. The sun was setting and an eight year old Genis was running as fast as he could to get to his house before his sister. Lloyd was standing a little ways from everyone watching a younger Colette run into her father's arms. Frank embraced her tightly and lightly began swinging her from side to side as Lloyd watched with eyes full of longing.

Colette's heart began to pound guiltily as she watched a past Lloyd turn away and slowly begin making his way to the entrance of the town to go home. He stopped and gave one final look over his shoulder at the family before turning away and wiping his eyes. The younger version of her dear friend ran away and left the scene without another glance over his shoulder.

And the scene changed once again. This time to one of the nightly training sessions that Lloyd had asked Kratos to give. Kratos stood harshly reprimanding Lloyd for his actions and Lloyd stood with his head hung in guilt. Kratos stopped and stared at the boy before saying, "Try to come at me one more time."

"Yes Kratos," Lloyd answered preparing another attack. Shortly after taking a fighting stance Lloyd rushed forward and began an attack of Demonic Thrust and just at the very end of it Colette saw Kratos shift his weight to unbalance himself and leave himself completely defenseless. Needless to say the attack made contact and both Kratos' shield and sword were sent soaring into the air. The purple swordsman fell back and landed hard on his back while Lloyd stumbled forward completely off set that his attack went through. He fell forward beside the purple swordsman but Kratos' arms shot out protectively to catch the red swordsman. After all was said and done both Kratos and Lloyd sat up and Lloyd stuttered, "I landed……a hit?"

"Yes……and then you fell," Kratos answered with his normal backhanded compliment. He stood and walked over to his sword and shield and picked them up. Sheathing his sword and walking away he calmly stated, "That's enough for tonight. We should rest for tomorrow seeing as we have a long ways to walk."

"Hey Kratos……uh," Lloyd stood and looked that auburn haired man's back. Kratos turned his head slightly to make eye contact and Lloyd cautiously continued, "Did you……did you let me hit you? Or was that real?"

A small and rare smile curled at Kratos' mouth and he turned around, "You landed that hit fair and square. I don't give away hits but don't let that go to your head. You still have a ways to go but……you're getting there."

Kratos disappeared through the trees leaving Lloyd still standing there with a quizzical look on his face. He rubbed the back of his neck and said, "There's no way I could've gotten that hit……Kratos must've given it to me……but why?"

Lloyd looked up at where the swordsman left and after sheathing his own blades ran after the man he would soon know as his father. Colette felt something inside her warm and as the scene dissolved into another one before her she felt like she would cry out of happiness. When she cleared her teary eyes she noticed another night scene but Lloyd was standing by a tree and repeatedly punching it.

"Damn him! He betrayed us! He acted so much like an older brother and then he betrayed us!" Lloyd angrily snapped as he punched the tree with every sentence, "He betrayed all of us and even went as far as hurting Colette! Damn him!"

"I won't forgive him. I can't…" Lloyd's voice dropped to a whisper as he fell to his knees. He looked up to the stars and whispered, "What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to feel? I should be so angry at him but……I can't hate him……Mom please help me out here!"

"Oh Lloyd," Colette said wishing he could hear her. She walked over to him and sat down beside him. She also looked up into the sky and continued, "I wish you could hear me. Kratos only did what he was told. You don't have to hate him for it. I promise that when I see you again in the present that I'll help you. I swear it!"

"So you understand what has driven your friend into this state?" Martel's voice inquired around her.

"I have an idea," Colette answered calmly.

"AHHHHHH!" Lloyd suddenly screamed. Colette jumped and looked around to see that the vision had changed to the exact moment Lloyd had found out Kratos was his father.

"Lloyd calm down. You're still you!" Colette's own voice echoed about them. Lloyd suddenly froze and repeated the words as Colette continued to reassure her friend that he would never change in her eyes. Never.

"Lady Martel……I think I'm ready to talk to Lloyd," Colette said as the scene before her once again dissolved, "Thank you for helping me."

"Good luck."

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Colette shot up into a sitting position and rubbed her sleepy eyes. She glanced around to see that she was once again in her room and the sun was shining brightly through the window. She smiled brightly and jumped from her bed, hurriedly making her way to her closet. With speed that none of her friends knew, she threw on her clothes and bolted down the stairs and out of the house. She ran straight through the town and was halfway through the forest before anyone even noticed she was gone.

Colette ran up to Lloyd's house to see him placing flowers on his mother's grave. Lloyd turned around and smiled at her and managed to say, "Hi Colette. What's-"

Colette bowled straight into him causing them both to fall onto the ground. Colette tightly embraced Lloyd and said, "Thank you so much Lloyd!"

"What are you talking about you dork? I haven't done anything," Lloyd laughed sitting up embracing Colette back.

"Nu-uh!" Colette insisted. She looked up at him and Lloyd froze as her intense blue eyes stared right into his, "You've been so strong! You've never given up despite how hard it might be and well……you've always struggled to do the right thing. You've always been strong and you've always helped me! Now let me help you!"

"What do you mean?" his brow furrowed slightly confused by Colette's words.

"Try to talk to him. Try to send him a letter. You don't have to live without him. Try to talk to him. Please," Colette whispered hiding her face in his chest.

Lloyd sat there completely stunned for a moment before tightly embracing Colette and whispering, "Thank you Colette. I think……I will send him a letter……I'll send my dad a letter."

And they sat there together a little while longer before moving. They both were thinking of how much they owe the other. And together, they were thinking of the strength they seemed to share. Together.

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**So what do you think? I just thought that maybe Colette needed to help Lloyd like he helped her. I mean she owes him! Lol. Well, they're you go people. I hope you like it because it was kinda fun to write. Please review! No flames please and if there are some grammatical errors I posted this at one in the morning. Sorry!**


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